They danced in Bloomsbury Square...

Ballet Twins by Jean Estoril

aka They danced in Bloomsbury Square by Mabel Esther Allan

published 1967

 

How have I missed this book? I would have enjoyed it so much when I was young, but am still loving it now.

It was recommended in the comments on our recent post on fictional schools

A New Favourite Schoolboy: not called MacKenzie Bly

Louloureads wrote this: 'my very favourite fictional school is from a book no-one ever seems to have read, Jean Estoril's Ballet Twins. It's about two working class girls from Birkenhead who win scholarships to the prestigious Lingeraux Ballet Academy in London. They stay at a boarding house, another setting I have apparently always loved! I reread Ballet Twins a few years ago after finding a second-hand copy and the magic more or less held up, which is not the case for all my childhood favourites...'

And then CLM answered her:

'I also love that Mabel Esther Allan/Jean Estoril Ballet Twins book, LouLou. In the US, it was published as We Danced in Bloomsbury Square. I borrowed it frequently from the library and finally got my own copy as an adult. MEA's The Ballet Family and The Ballet Family Again (aka The Dancing Garlands, I think) are also excellent (my other favorites of hers are Time to Go Back, Romansgrove, and Lost Lorrenden). I took one year of ballet but it was not as transformative as in books, so I retired to my books'

 

Back to me. So obviously I ordered it immediately, and absolutely loved it. It had so much going for it – including being set initially near where I grew up. The twins live in Birkenhead and go to dancing class in Liverpool, and the journey is real, with proper street names and very exact details of the journey (ferry in summer, train in winter). It was delightfully familiar.

The family is warm and loving and not well-off. The two talented twins, Debby and Dorrie, will need scholarships to attend a prestigious school in London. Given the nature of the book, its obvious this is going to be sorted out, but the author still manages to create considerable jeopardy in the process.

They set off to London – they are very young, just around 13 when the story gets going, so stay with an aunt who has a boarding house. Their attic room is cold, and a bit dismal, but: ‘then I saw the top of a bus and caught another glimpse of Bedford Square. It was a room in London and suddenly – though I was cold, homesick and rather frightened – it had a kind of romance.’ I guarantee that would have been me if I’d ever got the chance to do something so outlandish as move to London to pursue ballet.

So we have stage school, AND boarding house – I agree with Louloureads, a great combo. The twins are far from identical and have different personalities and dancing styles, which does cause problems. I thought the conversations and the feelings were very realistic, convincing, and the life of the girls was absorbing. I loved the moment where something has gone wrong, and Dorrie (who narrates) says she felt terrible for Debbie… but then ‘after a time I didn’t care so much about Debbie, but only about my own shame and disappointment.’ As I say: realistic.

A situation arises which resembles one in Antonia Forest’s End of Term, in regard to twins (both books) and their casting.

There is a rather splendid older cousin living with them, Linda, who is off enjoying life, not very worried about dancing or studying. Or the state of the world:

“All this talk about atom bombs and world troubles… I can’t do anything. Can you see me sitting down in Trafalgar Square, or taking part in one of those protest marches?”

“No I can’t, Miss” said Aunt Eileen. “Not in those shoes, or in your lack of sensible underclothes. You’d get your death if you sat down for five minutes.”

This is Trafalgar Square a few years later, and some of these young people definitely might catch their death:

The book does break a golden rule of stage books mind you: one of the girls trips over and ricks her ankle. And she just – recovers. No-one says ‘will she ever dance again?’ No-one worries that she will miss out on dancing her big moment. She doesn’t have to have a dangerous operation to fix it. It’s just like she banged her elbow. Has Jean Estoril/MEA not READ any other ballet books? But I forgive her, as it’s the only lack in the story.

Stories about ballet schools were very popular in girls’ comics of the era – this is from Diana in 1965

I always loved the Pamela Brown Swish of the Curtain books, and particularly Golden Pavements: also dealing with young people heading off to their uncertain stage future (acting rather than dancing) and coping with life.

And of course Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes is an ur-text here, along with Wintle’s Wonders, which triggered the original discussion.

And there are a LOT more stage school stories on the blog… there’s a few under this link

Clothes In Books

The author is, as CLM says, actually Mabel Esther Allan, who has featured on the blog with other books.

The attic is almost like the one inhabited by The Little Princess in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s important book.

All books mentioned here can be found on the blog via the search box.

I am sure I will reread this book, and I am very grateful to Loulou and Costance for putting me on to it.

Top picture is weirdly modern (around 2000) but most certainly had the look

2023-100-4-2-2-Quinte ballet | Six ballet dancers. One of a … | Flickr

Audition picture is from a Noel Streatfeild annual.

 

Rachel Cameron adjusting ballet shoes | Title devised by cat… | Flickr

Protest from a few years later

GLF Youth Group demonstration against age of consent at 21… | Flickr